Sydney Embraces The Chaos In An Hour Of Power

The Dillinger Escape Plan played at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Saturday, August 16th. David James Young reviews.

It’s safe to say the elevator pitch on Ho99o9 (say it “horror”) isn’t particularly enticing to more discerning listeners. From the leet-speak bandname to the dreaded horrorcore tag, the New Jersey duo – at least on paper – come across less Coachella and Glastonbury and more Gathering Of The Juggalos. Upon arriving on the Enmore Theatre stage, they’re met with smatterings of applause but mostly sceptical onlookers and rows of crossed arms. So, how does one circumnavigate such cynicism? Put bluntly, you need to be undeniable.

That’s the plan of attack for the ensuing 40 minutes – and that’s not a figure of speech. With strobe lighting that could take an eye out and sub-bass that rattles the skull, Ho99o9 make it their business to ensure they’re in the heads of every early arrival. Duelling MCs theOGM and Yeti Bones prowl the theatre stage like it’s their own, spitting rapidfire verses with a thoroughly-aggressive bent.

The beats backing them are heavy, too – in a genuine sense, not in a Joker-circa-Suicide Squad way that other punk-rap delivers. It’s all blaring industrial synth and churning guitars, promptly pummelled into your ears by live drummer Billy Rymer (more on him later). It’s still unquestionably an acquired taste, and it’s unlikely they’ve scored a 100% approval rating in the room with this abrasive, unapolagetic approach. Still, they’ve proven why they belong on this stage, and full credit to them for going straight for the jugular. A group with less chutzpah would have flinched.

Ho99o9 – ‘Incline’

In a blaze of swung guitars, battered bodies and countless stagedives, The Dillinger Escape Plan took what was believed to be their final bow in 2017, following a sold-out world tour and a career-spanning finale in New York City. Imagine the surprise some six years later, then, when the band was resurrected by founding guitarist Ben Weinman to commemorate a quarter-century since the release of their debut album, Calculating Infinity. Along for the ride was original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, as well as alumni from the band’s 20-year history in bassist Liam Wilson, guitarist James Love and the aforementioned Billy Rymer back on the kit.

With the ensuing reunion has come a sharply-focused exercise in metalcore nostalgia, reflecting solely on Dillinger’s first five years and nothing else – giving them roughly an hour of material to work with. One might feel shortchanged from the outset on that accord – after all, at $110 a ticket, that equates to roughly $1.83 a minute or nearly seven dollars per song. At the very least, though, if tonight’s show proves anything, it’s that Weinman and co. are not, to borrow an Australian phrase, pulling a John Farnham – ie. saying it’s the last time, and then going out again just because. They’re here to ensure you get your money’s worth, which is clear from the jump – and, again, that’s not a figure of speech.

Both Weinman and Minakakis leap straight into action, tearing into ‘Desto’s Secret’ and riling up the front-row devotees with plenty of barricade action. As the album unfurls, albeit out of order, you’re given a timely reminder of how influential it has been on so many left-of-centre metal bands in the ensuing decades. The rush of ‘Sugar Coated Sour’ still makes you want to walk on heads like it’s the Virgin Megastore, while the title track is as close to an arse-shaker as mathcore tends to get. It’s as artful as it is abrasive, and that impact still lands throughout the hour of power – even when poor mixing and technical difficulties threaten to stomp a mudhole into proceedings entirely.

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Live at Brutal Assault

Minakakis, if we’re giving an honest assessment, is not the fire-breathing, bag-shitting daredevil that Greg Puciato was in his heyday. By that same token, however, any parallels drawn are unfair – these types of antics were never Minakakis’ bag, pardon the pun. The most outlandish thing he does all night is do a lap of the audience during their infamous rendition of Aphex Twin‘s ‘Come To Daddy’ – during which, hilariously, he boneheads a punter so transfixed with filming the stage on their phone that they don’t even realise he’s standing right in front of them. He’s enjoying reliving this period of his life on-stage, and that’s more than enough to get him across the line. Slow and steady wins the race, after all.

The night ends on ‘43% Burnt’, which invariably has a 100% success rate at any Dillinger show past or present. It’s one of the genre’s truly canonic works; a wailing, unrelenting exercise in chaos that has always managed to sound like the first thing heavy metal would do if it took the pill from Limitless and used all of its brain capacity at once. Minakakis once again ends up in the throes of the crowd, and Weinman pulls off a truly impressive leap directly from the stage into the jaws of the mosh as the breakdown comes back twice – both times even slower than before, ensuring no-one in the pit is safe. There’s your $110 worth right there.

The Dillinger Escape Plan play the final show of their Australian tour tonight at The Tivoli in Brisbane. All remaining tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.